Palo Alto High School alumnus Tony Vallone has been an avid filmmaker ever since he was featured in Gunn’s Gunndance Film Festival in 2002.

As a freshman at UCLA, Vallone started writing a short 20-page screenplay about changes he had seen in his high school friends since leaving for college. Now, two years later, with the help of two other young Palo Alto natives—Director Brad Leong and Producer Daniel Engelhardt—Vallone’s screenplay has morphed into the anticipated independent film “Palo Alto”.

“Palo Alto” follows four Paly graduates on their first visit back from college during Thanksgiving break. On their last night home, the boys discover that their small hometown, Palo Alto, may not be as uneventful, barren or uninteresting as they had once thought and realize how quickly their lives are changing.

Vallone’s personal high school and college memories helped spark the idea for the movie’s plot. “The inspiration for the film was from my own an experience returning home from college and visiting my high school friends,” Vallone said. “I noticed that in a short while a lot of them had started to change and how it almost snuck up on some people.”

Raised in Palo Alto, Vallone thought it would be a good place to set the movie due to budget constraints and the atmosphere of the town. “I knew from the beginning we’d end up filming in Palo Alto anyway because it is cheaper than L.A.,” Vallone said. “The characters are all people you might meet in Palo Alto, but other than that the town isn’t part of the story lines. As a setting it is brilliant, though, because the streets and the homes convey a certain tone that is very important for the film.”

However, although the movie is set in his own hometown, it does not directly portray Vallone in his teenage years. “The story is not really autobiographical except for some of the little anecdotes and dialogue,” Vallone said. “And no, we didn’t film a scene at Happy Donuts at 2 a.m, although I really thought we should have written one in.”

The cast is composed of diverse actors, ranging from Ben Savage of “Boy Meets World” and Autumn Reeser of “The O.C.” to lesser known, up-and-coming performers such as Aaron Ashemore and Rosalee Ward. Much of the cast and crew stayed in a rental house on Cowper Street near downtown Palo Alto during the two-month filming period.

Palo Alto teenagers played the part of extras in the film. “The process was pretty fun,” Paly sophomore Jeremy Kim said. “Each scene takes a lot of time and we had to re-do a bunch of shots about seven to 15 times each. My friends and I also got to do a small scene with Ben Savage.”

Another unique aspect of the movie is that the crew is composed mostly of high school students between the ages of 15 and 18. “They come from high schools with very advanced film programs and are extremely talented,” Vallone said. “You’d never believe they were that young.”

Additionally, Vallone hopes that the cast and crew combined, who are mostly just at the brink of their careers, will add to the youthful feel of the film. “No one as young as us that I can think of has pursued this ambitious of a project,” Vallone said. “I would not complain if our film got attention just for being the product of young filmmakers because honestly everyone involved deserves that attention.”

“Palo Alto” is currently nearing the end of the editing process, and the filmmakers are rushing to make the submission deadline of the Sundance Film Festival which will take place mid-January. They are hoping that their film will be viewed by the movers and shakers that flock to the world famous festival. The film is aimed to premiere in Palo Alto between the months of January and March 2007 in a small theater, such as The Aquarius downtown or perhaps even Gunn’s own Spangenberg Theater.

Many students await the film’s debut with enthusiasm. “I’ll definitely see the movie,” junior Molly Kawahata said. “I’m curious to see how Palo Alto is portrayed.”

Sophomore Cosmo Sung agrees. “It’s going to be weird watching a movie filmed in my own town, but I want to see it because I make short videos for fun, and it’s cool that these writers started out the same way,” Sung said.

With its young cast and crew and familiar setting, “Palo Alto” will appeal to many Gunn students.

Moreover, the coming of age story should speak universally to adults and youth alike, regardless of where they live.